Topo was hungering for a new ride; One he could drop his other Miami cycling buddies with. He needed something with an edge, so more and more he found himself drawn to a 1980 early aero Benotto, with aero section clincher wheels, Modolo brakes and Simplex deraileurs and a tight Regina Oro 13-19 5 speed freewheel, just perfect for Miami's flat terrain. AT $400 it was the cheapest of the new aero bikes, but with his job at a local supermarket it was about all he could afford. Topo was a talented amateur rider who from 1980 to 1999 rode that bike to several wins in local crit races and many impromptu cycling gunfights during that time period. During his last years of stewardship the bike was simply outdated, having 10 speeds, at a time when most serious cyclists were using 12, then 14, then 16 and finally 18 speed drivetrains. He never updated parts, and kept the humble plastic Giepiemme friction shift levers and Giepiemme/Simplex deraileurs that the bike first came with when it still had the blush of youth. When newer training methods became popular, he did equip his old steed with a modern computer that included cadence along with speed features. Topo kept his job with Publix markets, advanced minimally with the company, but never became discouraged or ashamed of his career, because he did what he did with pride, and enthusiasm, and discipline, much of which he gained from his strong regular cycling workouts out on Key Biscayne with the 6:00 AM "hammer ride". He loved that bike and took good care of it until one day in 2000 it was stolen from him as he briefly went inside a local convenience store to pay for a sports drink. In the one minute that it took for him to transact business, a lurking crack addict removed the bike from Topo's bike rack and rode off down the alley barely able to stay upright as he struggled with the Look clipless pedals and tight geometry. It was a cruel blow for Topo, and the beginning a much rougher life for Topo's old Benotto.
Legend used that old Benotto in a way it had never seen use before. Legend never worked regularly other than stealing and panhandling or occasional day labour. He new that the bike had character and years of its previous owner's sweat on it. So Legend kept the bike safe in his one room efficiency or securely locked up to post or pole. Over the next five years of servitude that Benotto sported a comfort seat, plastic beartrap pedals, and lost its bar tape and computer. As spokes broke Legend sometimes merely kept riding for a while tying up spokes just to keep them from rattling around. The bike transported Legend from one petty theft to another, along with trips to the same convenience store from which it was heisted. The bike was also a frequent visitor to the local crack houses that graced Miami's impovrished Overtown area. Legend allowed the Benotto to retain some of it's original dignity as he even purchased a Presta valve floor pump to keep the slender tires inflated. This alone separated Legend's "racing bike" from the bikes that other local drug addicts possessed. Legend lead a hard life, and even though he was relatively young at 40, by 2005 he could no longer ride a bike. Complications of Aids and general malnutrition caused him to sell the bike for $10 to a shop that specialized in the buying and selling of ghetto bikes and rusted balcony cycles. As Overtown began its powerful gentrification this one shop remained the last of its kind.
Sargent Davis ran his used bike shop for a couple of years, buying bikes for $10, swapping parts and reselling them for $40. It was a somewhat honest living but a hard one. Most of the bikes stayed out in the elements until they were lucky or unlucky enough to be bought. The old Benotto stayed out in the rain and blistering sun with dozens of others for weeks behind locked gates and barbed wire. Davis learned his profession informally, but made a half decent living selling four or five bikes a day. Occasionally he would score big, buying a bike he could quickly turn over for major profit. Sometimes he would buy a brand new branded mountain bike for a few bills and sell it the same day for $200. No papers or bills of sale nor books needed to be filled out. The business was a cash only operation. When Sarge wasn't working on one of the bikes, he worked fixing up his old Chevy truck. For an emotionally scarred Vietnam veteran this was a lonely, but simple job for a social outcast. It wasn't long before the Benotto was spotted by a Metro Dade Officer. In it's present condition, the bike could only be valuable to a collector. Only the frame, the stem and bars, the hubs, the derailleurs and the crank could be salvaged for parts for projects. At $40 it was a relative bargain in a world of $100 E-bay bottom brackets. Officer Garth Libre bought the bike and brought it home to his backyard shop.
It took about an hour to fully disassemble the bike, and another hour to wash all the parts and assess their potential for salvage. All in all the bike frame was still good, without interior rust or major misalignments. Modolo plastic brake levers. "Now how did they survive the years." He thought those were fragile, but they did survive, and in fine condition. The Gipiemme crank was lovely in a way that simply can't be appreciated by those that hunger for the latest Ultegra this or that. The Regina freewheel came off after a minor struggle. Into its solvent bath and out into its drying place in the sun, relieved of it's caked on dirt, it resumed its former status as part of racing's heritage. A Regina Oro five speed in typical knee busting race configuration. Garth gave the freewheel a spin and a heard the timeless sound of fine bicycle machinery ready to take its place on some newly restored Colnago or Masi.
Garth Libre in Miami Fl.